Case information

Municipal law — Legislation — Interpretation — Partisan publicity — Whether prohibition against partisan publicity on premises of polling stations provided for in general terms by all Quebec electoral legislation and in particular by s. 283 of Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities is limited to positive or explicitly partisan words and actions or whether, depending on circumstances, it can also encompass certain forms of tacit or implicit incitement, particularly by candidate — Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities, CQLR, c. E 2.2, s. 283.

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Ms. Tassoni stood trial for having engaged, as an election candidate, in partisan publicity on polling premises contrary to s. 283 of the Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities. On the advance polling and polling days, Ms. Tassoni had been outside polling stations several times to greet voters. After the prosecution closed its case, the defence brought a motion for non suit, alleging a total lack of evidence.

In the trial judge’s view, s. 283 of the statute is ambiguous. A person’s mere presence on polling premises should not make them guilty simply because they are a candidate. The motion for non suit was granted, and Ms. Tassoni was acquitted. The Superior Court found that the trial judge had not erred and that his interpretation was correct. The Court of Appeal, in a majority judgment, confirmed the interpretation given to s. 283. This section requires evidence of positive conduct that tends to incite or to [TRANSLATION] “rally support”. The statute permits candidates to be on polling premises, and associating this mere presence with a “form of partisan publicity” would therefore be legally absurd in the context. The verdict of acquittal was upheld.